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Monday, February 18, 2019

Kingdom Hearts 3 Thoughts So Far Part 2



I finished Kingdom Hearts III and did some of the post-game content. I wrote about the actual gameplay a lot in my previous look at the game, so I am going to write generally about my opinion here and then move into spoilers and mostly focus on the story. I’m going to take a short break from the game to get some separation from it before posting my final thoughts.

So, this is a very good game. Right now, it has not surpassed Chain of Memories as my favorite, but it is solidly in the next tier. I think it is on par with KH2. And I know that is a controversial opinion, but it is how I feel. I am going to take a short break from the game and then come back to it and explore the gummi ship world more as well finish all the flan, collect lucky emblems, etc. The combat is flashy and satisfying, but I’m not sure how much depth is there; I need to experiment with it more. Which is how I felt about KH2 for a long time so that will be fun. The story is good and satisfying, but I wish it kicked into gear a little earlier. I have some minor complaints about various worlds and what have you, but it is a really good game. Let’s get into the spoilers:

                Sora is dead? I think. He is definitely in Shibuya, The World Ends With You version too. The way he faded out from the beach scene makes me think he found Kairi but didn’t make it back. This comes after they were set up as a romantic couple in this game (kinda). The real question I have is about Riku. Did he go to look for Sora and end up in the world of Verum Rex? Did the Master of Masters (I am assuming he is the one in that cloak) grab him and take him there? Is Verum Rex a real world inside a video game or is the video game based on it? Does the Kingdom Hearts staff understand what data is?
                But back to this game. The story is pretty good. I wish some of the end game stuff was a little more spaced out, but I appreciate that Sora must have character growth over the course of the game before he can unlock the Power of Waking. Which is where the Disney worlds come in, especially Olympus. Sora grows and changes throughout this game more than maybe the entire series up to this point.
                The end of the game is especially satisfying. And boy did I not expect everyone to DIE. Of course, it gets undone, but Sora still experienced it. And Donald’s Zettaflare spell was wild. Donald fucking Duck is now canonically one of the strongest spellcasters in Square-Enix history. And then you end up in The Final World. The closest thing to purgatory this series has shown us thus far. And Sora must collect himself in order to return to life. Which make CONSECUTIVE games in which Sora must be collected.
                Afterwards, Sora rides a bunch of Keyblades with the help of the X era wielders to destroy the giant Demon Tide tornado thing. This is followed by a million other awesome events leading to the Skein, one of my favorite areas in the series. There is not much to it in terms of exploration, but the boss fights. Facing off against multiple bosses that where hard (some being the final bosses of their games) before shows the growth in ability Sora has experienced. The all Xehanort battle is the highlight for me.
                The final boss battle reminds me of Final Fantasy XV in some areas. Or at least what I think that battle was supposed to be. Master Xehanort was the most challenging part of the game to that point (as you would want from a final boss), but also looked very cool. Nomura going full Baphomet with Xehanort was the perfect design for his armor.
                And after all that has happened, everyone gets a happy ending (except maybe Sora and Riku). It is incredibly touching to see all the characters reunite and the final moments on the Destiny Islands were everything I could have hoped for. AND ROXAS FINALLY GOT TO GO TO THE BEACH!
                Kingdom Hearts III is an extremely good game. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. I will get into that more in some post in the future, but this game satisfied me in almost every aspect. There are a few plot holes, but that has never been what Kingdom Hearts is about. Kingdom Hearts is about people and the way they relate to each other. And in that regard, I would say this is a perfect game.


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